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DENVER — When he starts Wednesday against the New York Mets Jaguars Game Jerseys , Chad Bettis will try to build off his last game for the Colorado Rockies, one that included a deceptively bad pitching line that masked an abrupt turnaround.

On Friday at Texas, Bettis (5-1, 4.65) gave up five runs in the first inning, including two two-run homers on badly located breaking pitches. But Bettis went on to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings, a span in which he allowed two singles and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced with six strikeouts.

The Rockies erupted for six runs in the second and went on to win 9-5 and give Bettis his first victory after six straight no-decisions. He had not won since May 5 at Citi Field when he worked seven scoreless innings against the Mets.

“It didn’t surprise me what he did (against the Rangers) because he’s tenacious,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He doesn’t back down. He doesn’t quit. And I think he knew there was a long way to go. I think it naturally energized him when we got six runs in the top of the next inning.”

Before that uprising, Black said Bettis could have caved in and accepted that it wasn’t his night.

“The good ones don’t let that happen,” Black said. “He knew that there were four or five more innings for him to stay out there, especially in that American League game. That showed me a lot that he put up zeros for 4 2/3 (innings).”

Bettis, who is 1-0, 4.05 in three starts against the Mets, will be trying to finally win at Coors Field this year where he is 0-0, 7.76 in six starts. He will take the mound after the Rockies beat the Mets 10-8 Tuesday night to even the four-game series and break an eight-game losing streak at Coors Field. The win was just the fifth in 18 games for the Rockies, who are 12-20 at Coors Field, where they have typically dominated.

“Overall we haven’t pitched well here for whatever reason,” Black said. “We got to do that. We got to make pitches. It doesn’t matter where we play, we got to pitch well. And what’s happening here at home is the other team is making better pitches than us over the course of 150, 180 pitches.”

Bettis will be opposed by Seth Lugo (2-2, 2.49), who will be making his Coors Field debut and is 1-1, 3.00 in three starts this season with one walk and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings. Lugo is 1-0, 3.55 in three games, including one start, against the Rockies.

The Mets’ three-game winning streak ended Tuesday as they lost for the 13th time in 17 games and fell to 14-30 since May 1.

The Mets put outfielder Jay Bruce on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to Monday with right hip soreness after he missed a fourth start in five days and sent him back to New York for an MRI. Dominic Smith, a first baseman by trade, played left field Tuesday, and Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Smith, who began playing the outfield last month for Triple-A Las Vegas and entered Friday’s game in Arizona as the left fielder, would receive work at that position as the Mets go with four outfielders.

To replace Bruce, they recalled Tim Peterson, wanting an extra reliever with three games left in the series at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Peterson threw 19 pitches in two perfect innings Tuesday. The Mets will re-evaluate their roster before beginning a Friday series at home with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Mets outfield corps now includes Smith and Jose Bautista along with regulars Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto. Callaway said Wilmer Flores Chiefs Game Jerseys , who has had outfield experience, would stay at first base, leaving Smith and Bautista as the primary options in left field.

“We won’t hesitate to put Dom out there like we did today,” Callaway said, “but Bautista, who has been having great at-bats and playing pretty well in the outfield for us will get some playing time as well.”

NEW YORK — For virtually every day in the last month, either the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees woke up in first place in the AL East standings.

Since the wild-card play-in game was added in 2012, the premium is placed on being a division winner and whichever team finishes second in the AL East appears likely to host the wild-card game.

Neither team is ready to focus on playoff scenarios, but the Red Sox and Yankees are anticipating a vibrant atmosphere Friday night for the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

“We know where we’re at,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “They’re not getting away. We’re not getting away. It’s half the season. This is a three-game series. We go out there with the same mindset. Win the series.”

The season series is tied at three games apiece.

Boston took two of three April 10-12 when the Yankees began 9-9 and fell 7 1/2 games out. The Yankees took two of three a month later, missing the sweep when J.D. Martinez homered off Dellin Betances in the series finale.

Since the last meeting, the Red Sox (55-27) are 29-16 while the Yankees (52-26) are 26-15. The teams were tied atop the division following the last meeting and the margin has not been more than 2 1/2 games since the last series.

“They’re a great team,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ve played some really competitive games with them already. If we’re going to win the division, that’s the team we’re going to have to beat out. They’re a really good opponent chasing after the same thing we’re after and we embrace the competition.”

The Red Sox enter the series on a four-game winning streak and with six wins in their last seven games, a stretch that has seen them get 52 runs while hitting .331 (83-for-251). They scored 22 runs and hit nine homers in a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels.

Martinez was quiet in Thursday’s 4-2 win but leads the majors with 25 homers and is hitting .448 (13-for-29) in his last seven games.

Rafael Devers and Jackie Bradley Jr. homered Thursday and both enjoyed improved results on the homestand. Devers was 8-for-22 while Bradley was 8-for-17.

“We’re playing well. We’re pitching well. We’re swinging the bats a lot better than 10 days ago,” Cora said “So as always, it should be fun. I’ve been saying it all along since last year: The stadium is alive. The (Yankees) fans are buying into the concept. They love that team.”

The Yankees are returning from a 2-4 road trip through Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. During the trip, the Yankees were blanked twice and scored 17 runs while batting .175 (40-for-229) and going 10-for-57 (.175) with runners in scoring position.

“We feel like we’ve got a really good team, they’ve got a really good team,” Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner said. “We’ve been right there with them, within a game or two, it seems like all year and it will probably be like that for the next few months, too.”

The Yankees own the majors’ best home record at 29-11 and enter the series with 13 wins in their last 18 home games since the last meeting with the Red Sox.

One player who enjoyed a good trip was Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton is hitting .306 this month and batted .417 (10-for-24) on the trip.

Stanton and the rest of the Yankees will contend with three left-handed starters as the Red Sox are slated to start Eduardo Rodriguez, Chris Sale and David Price. The Yankees are 18-5 in games started by lefties and are hitting .262 off southpaw starters.

Rodriguez, who will start Friday, is 9-2 with a 3.86 ERA and is coming off a rare loss. He allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits in four innings of Saturday’s 7-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Despite matching his second-shortest outing of the season, Rodriguez is 6-1 in his last seven starts.

Rodriguez is 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 career starts against the Yankees. He started the last meeting on May 10 and held the Yankees to one hit and no runs in five innings while getting eight strikeouts in a 93-pitch outing.

The Yankees will counter with CC Sabathia, whose charitable foundation raised $1 million in a softball game Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

Sabathia is seeking his 242nd career win, which would break a tie with Herb Pennock for 56th place on the all-time list. He also is making his 524th career start.

Sabathia is coming off two tough-luck losses to the Tampa Bay Rays. After allowing three runs on 10 hits in 7 2/3 innings June 17, Sabathia allowed two runs (one earned) on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings in last Friday’s 2-1 loss.

Sabathia was originally slated to start Wednesday but the Yankees opted to line him up for the Red Sox.

The left-hander is 17-13 with a 4.20 ERA in 40 career starts against Boston and 15-9 with a 4.27 ERA in 33 starts in the rivalry since becoming a Yankee in 2009. He opposed Rodriguez last month and allowed four runs on nine hits in four innings in a game the Red Sox won 5-4.

After this weekend’s series, the teams will next meet Aug 2-5 for a four-game set at Fenway Park.